Hi all!
I'VE MISSED TCS!!!!
It's been a heck of a week. (Is that all it's been?)
We're mostly moved. !!
Gary had a very bad couple of weeks health-wise, so I'm very thankful his mom was here to help pack. We couldn't afford movers, but friends own a furniture store. It's closed Mondays, so our friend lent us the truck and we paid one of the delivery guys and a friend of his to help us move the furniture. We'd already moved about a billion boxes over here with a small Penske. But there's still stuff left in the garage, the basement, and our "this has no place to go" closets. We've got at least another day of sorting, packing and moving left.
BUT.... the absolutely GREAT news is the cats. We thought they'd love this place - and were we right!
We did not end up putting them in the RV for various reasons. Monday morning, we closed them in our bedroom while most of the downstairs furniture got packed and moved. I let them out when they left, so they were only shut in for about an hour and a half. They romped and ran around, checking out all the empty space. No one seemed too stressed.
Gary called when they were leaving the new house. I'd prepped the empty bedroom with toys, their beds, litter boxes, water, food, and their crates, and I moved them into that room.
The guys then packed up our bedroom and the rest of the furniture. I stayed with the kitties while Gary went back with the second trip of furniture. He got our bedroom at the new place all set up with their cat trees, their tents, litter boxes....
I'd gotten the car packed with everything but the cats. Gary got home, we crated them, and hit the road. When we arrived, we released them into the bedroom. They were immediately out and about - checking everything out. You could tell they were a little puzzled - so many familiar smells (the same sheets and blankets from that morning!) - but in a strange place.
Flowerbelle hid in the closet (we left the doors open) - but she was the only one. I'm really wondering if they understood the million times we explained that we were moving - and Flowerbelle didn't understand because she's deaf. ?????
Anyway, Tuxedo was itching to get out the door the minute he'd explored the master bedroom and attached bathroom - but we were expecting workmen the next day, so we decided they had to stay in the room until that was over with.
We'd packed a lot of things in bags, so we got all that stuff moved into the family room so we could close it off (don't want kitties caught in handles).
And then... we opened the bedroom door. All of them popped out - everyone but Tuxedo, very slowly at first. Tuxedo trotted around rubbing everything with his cheek. After about two hours, we broke out the wand toys and mice - and they went NUTS. Tuxie was running around, jumping, doing summersaults (sp?) Even Lazlo was leaping around! Flowerbelle was running around - flopping down, rolling around on the floor, stretching and purring. It was just too cool to see them so happy so soon in a new space!
There is SO MUCH space here, and Ming Loy can really get the speed up!
Today, I came downstairs to work on unpacking some more boxes, and lined up, sprawled out - backs up against the deck windows, were Lazlo, Spooky, Shelly and Tuxedo. The windows face west, it was late afternoon, and it must have been a million degrees there - but they were loving it.
There's still a lot of work to be done on the house (the kitchen is getting new cabinets, counters and new flooring).
But we're here. Gary started the new job May 1, and he had to head into NYC on Wednesday and today. His mom left today, but we unpacked what we could.
Gary and I will go pick up the rest of the stuff at the old house over the weekend, and it'll probably take weeks to get everything unpacked and put away.
Little by little.
Most importantly, we've been able to find all the important things, and the kitties are just in heaven here. There was almost no adjustment period, and I am amazed!
Thank you all SO MUCH for all your support, good thoughts and good wishes along the way!
I'll put up picks when we're a little bit more unpacked.
Hugs to all,
Laurie
It's been a heck of a week. (Is that all it's been?)
We're mostly moved. !!
Gary had a very bad couple of weeks health-wise, so I'm very thankful his mom was here to help pack. We couldn't afford movers, but friends own a furniture store. It's closed Mondays, so our friend lent us the truck and we paid one of the delivery guys and a friend of his to help us move the furniture. We'd already moved about a billion boxes over here with a small Penske. But there's still stuff left in the garage, the basement, and our "this has no place to go" closets. We've got at least another day of sorting, packing and moving left.
BUT.... the absolutely GREAT news is the cats. We thought they'd love this place - and were we right!
We did not end up putting them in the RV for various reasons. Monday morning, we closed them in our bedroom while most of the downstairs furniture got packed and moved. I let them out when they left, so they were only shut in for about an hour and a half. They romped and ran around, checking out all the empty space. No one seemed too stressed.
Gary called when they were leaving the new house. I'd prepped the empty bedroom with toys, their beds, litter boxes, water, food, and their crates, and I moved them into that room.
The guys then packed up our bedroom and the rest of the furniture. I stayed with the kitties while Gary went back with the second trip of furniture. He got our bedroom at the new place all set up with their cat trees, their tents, litter boxes....
I'd gotten the car packed with everything but the cats. Gary got home, we crated them, and hit the road. When we arrived, we released them into the bedroom. They were immediately out and about - checking everything out. You could tell they were a little puzzled - so many familiar smells (the same sheets and blankets from that morning!) - but in a strange place.
Flowerbelle hid in the closet (we left the doors open) - but she was the only one. I'm really wondering if they understood the million times we explained that we were moving - and Flowerbelle didn't understand because she's deaf. ?????
Anyway, Tuxedo was itching to get out the door the minute he'd explored the master bedroom and attached bathroom - but we were expecting workmen the next day, so we decided they had to stay in the room until that was over with.
We'd packed a lot of things in bags, so we got all that stuff moved into the family room so we could close it off (don't want kitties caught in handles).
And then... we opened the bedroom door. All of them popped out - everyone but Tuxedo, very slowly at first. Tuxedo trotted around rubbing everything with his cheek. After about two hours, we broke out the wand toys and mice - and they went NUTS. Tuxie was running around, jumping, doing summersaults (sp?) Even Lazlo was leaping around! Flowerbelle was running around - flopping down, rolling around on the floor, stretching and purring. It was just too cool to see them so happy so soon in a new space!
There is SO MUCH space here, and Ming Loy can really get the speed up!
Today, I came downstairs to work on unpacking some more boxes, and lined up, sprawled out - backs up against the deck windows, were Lazlo, Spooky, Shelly and Tuxedo. The windows face west, it was late afternoon, and it must have been a million degrees there - but they were loving it.
There's still a lot of work to be done on the house (the kitchen is getting new cabinets, counters and new flooring).
But we're here. Gary started the new job May 1, and he had to head into NYC on Wednesday and today. His mom left today, but we unpacked what we could.
Gary and I will go pick up the rest of the stuff at the old house over the weekend, and it'll probably take weeks to get everything unpacked and put away.
Little by little.
Most importantly, we've been able to find all the important things, and the kitties are just in heaven here. There was almost no adjustment period, and I am amazed!
Thank you all SO MUCH for all your support, good thoughts and good wishes along the way!
I'll put up picks when we're a little bit more unpacked.
Hugs to all,
Laurie
